Explain financial planning to politicians: Chikarovski

Financial planners would be well advised to meet with their local MP and explain to them the value of the industry, according to former NSW Opposition Leader and Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) lobbyist Kerry Chikarovski.

MPs had government superannuation policies and most had little need for financial advisers, which meant many actually have little understanding of what financial advisers do. Additionally, there has been a large amount of negative publicity in the wake of the Storm Financial and Opes Prime collapses, which meant it was up to advisers to attempt to repair their image, she said at the AFA's Sydney roadshow.

“It’s important that you explain to them how you work and how you can add value to the community. It’s also important that you explain to them that you are a professional industry,” Chikarovski said.

“What you need to do is go and sit down with your local politicians and explain to those local politicians about the professionalism of this industry and how it is growing as a profession,” she said.

“There is a strong emphasis in [the Ripoll report] on education and the reason that there is such a strong emphasis is that the politicians who sat on that committee don’t believe [financial planning] educational standards are high enough,” she added.

Planners should explain to their local MP that they are engaged in educational programs to develop their skills.

“Until they understand that you are a profession and that you are not only about people trying to sell product and getting the highest commission you can, they aren’t going to be thinking as kindly about you as they should be,” Chikarovski said.